When it comes to tee times and groupings for the first two days of the 107th PGA Championship, the PGA of America is playing the hits, particularly at 1:25 p.m. ET Thursday.
Jordan Spieth and Patrick Reed, the two components of what was once a dynamic Ryder Cup duo, will be grouped together, along with Swede Ludvig Åberg, for the first 36 holes at Quail Hollow. It will mark the first time that Spieth and Reed have played in the same group since the 2021 Players Championship.
Spieth and Reed went 4-1-2 as a team at Ryder Cups in 2014 and 2016, but in 2018, the partnership was broken up in favor of Spieth linking up with buddy Justin Thomas. After the Americans’ defeat in Paris, Reed criticized the split to the New York Times, saying, “The issue’s obviously with Jordan not wanting to play with me. I don’t have any issue with Jordan. When it comes right down to it, I don’t care if I like the person I’m paired with or if the person likes me as long as it works and it sets up the team for success. He and I know how to make each other better. We know how to get the job done.”
Spieth later responded, “Didn’t think it’d be a big deal if I played with Justin and Patrick got Tiger. Like, it doesn’t seem like something that would upset people, that you get Tiger. … Things were raised afterwards and then Patrick and I have been awesome since. It really was like, blown out for six months. And then other than that it’s been nothing.”
Here are a few other notable PGA groupings:
12:52 p.m./7:22 a.m.: Lucas Glover, Max Homa, Joaquin Niemann
Niemann, a three-time winner this year on LIV, gets a semi-premier grouping with the outspoken Glover and Homa, who is showing glimpses of shaking out of a prolonged slump.
1:14 p.m./7:44 a.m.: Justin Thomas, Dustin Johnson, Collin Morikawa
Johnson has just two top-10s on LIV this year and is coming off a T-34 finish in Korea, yet he finds himself playing alongside the PGA champ the last time it was at Quail (Thomas) and the 2020 PGA winner (Morikawa).
1:47 p.m./8:17 a.m.: Bryson DeChambeau, Viktor Hovland, Gary Woodland
This will be a fun and powerful three-ball, especially with DeChambeau finally getting over the final-round hump at LIV Korea, Hovland getting more and more comfortable with his swing, and Woodland getting healthier in the wake of brain surgery.
7:27 a.m./12:52 p.m.: Max McGreevy, Sahith Theegala, Sepp Straka
Straka’s reward for winning his second title of the season at last week’s Truist is a non-featured grouping with the struggling Theegala and major debutant McGreevy.
7:38 a.m./1:03 p.m.: Brooks Koepka, Rickie Fowler, Shane Lowry
This is a huge opportunity for Koepka to play himself onto the U.S. Ryder Cup team while Lowry is surely fired up about some recent Sunday struggles. Fowler is probably just trying to string together some solid scores.
7:49 a.m./1:14 p.m.: Phil Mickelson, Tommy Fleetwood, Jason Day
Seems like the first time in a while that Mickelson wasn’t buried on the tee sheet and instead gets slotted in with Fleetwood and Day, legit contenders this week.
8:00 a.m./1:25 p.m.: Jon Rahm, Patrick Cantlay, Matt Fitzpatrick
Rahm is ready to break the narrative around his move to LIV Golf and the majors. Cantlay is now arguably the best player without a major title along with Åberg and Hovland. Meanwhile, what has happened to Fitzy?
8:11 a.m./1:36 p.m.: Corey Conners, Min Woo Lee, Rasmus Højgaard
Chances are somebody’s sleeper is coming out of this group with a trio of young, long flushers.
8:22 a.m./1:47 p.m.: Rory McIlroy, Xander Schauffele, Scottie Scheffler
The top three players in the world who have won four of the past five majors between them.
8:44 a.m./2:09 p.m.: Andrew Novak, Keegan Bradley, Maverick McNealy
The captain and the two potential rookies just outside the current top six in U.S. Ryder Cup points.
